This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Irshad Ullah Maan's book In Search of Truth.
Most of the innovations mentioned in the List of Innovations are obvious. The sole purpose is that the public should be aware of innovations, gain understanding of religion, be informed about the Sunnah, and then avoid innovations while following the Sunnah.
Two days before Shab-e-Barat, a Fatiha (prayer for the deceased) called Urfa is held with great pomp and distributed with halwa and bread for both new and old deceased men. The Fatiha for old deceased men is obligatory, but for the new deceased, the entire family and community are gathered for the Urfa Fatiha. Those who do not attend the ceremony are criticized. Halwa and bread are not only served but also distributed among the poor and needy. This innovation is prevalent among the so-called Ahl-e-Sunnat, despite the fact that they do not find any evidence for this custom in authentic hadiths or the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
The Muhammadan Shariah dowry is so well known among the public that not only the uneducated but also the educated people think that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ set the dowry for all his marriages at thirty-two and a half rupees, and therefore we should also keep the dowry at the same amount. The public should know that all these are the excuses and innovations of those who deprive women of their rights. They do these illegitimate acts and then think that perhaps now they have also become deserving of reward, whereas the Prophet ﷺ did not set the dowry of any wife at thirty-two and a half rupees. Rather, he ﷺ gave each wife a dowry generously according to his ability. Thus, it is proven from historical traditions and hadiths how much dowry you ﷺ gave to your following pure wives:
[1] The dowry of Sayyida Khadijah al-Kubra, may Allah be pleased with her, was twelve and a half ounces of gold.
Reference: (Reference: Noor al-Yaqeen fi Seerat Sayyid al-Mursaleen)
[2] The dowry of Sayyida Aisha Siddiqah, may Allah be pleased with her, was twelve and a half ounces of gold.
[3] The dowry of Sayyida Sawda bint Zam'a, may Allah be pleased with her, was twelve and a half ounces of gold.
[4]Sayyida Hafsa bint Umar bin Khattab (RA) had a dowry of twelve and a half ounces of gold.
[5]Sayyida Zainab bint Jahsh (RA) had a dowry of twelve and a half ounces of gold.
Reference: Muslim, Kitab al-Nikah, Bab al-Sadaq wa Jawaz Kawnuhu Ta'leem ..... etc:1426 Without the names of his wives ﷺ
[6]Sayyida Umm Habiba bint Abu Sufyan (RA) had a dowry of four thousand dirhams given by the Negus, the King of Abyssinia, on behalf of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitab al-Nikah, Bab al-Sadaq:2108
[7]Sayyida Safiyya bint Huyayy (RA) was taken captive in the Battle of Khaybar; the Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her, and this was her dowry.
[8]Sayyida Maymunah bint al-Harith (RA) had a dowry of twelve and a half ounces of gold.
[9]Sayyida Juwayriyah bint al-Harith (RA) was taken captive in the Battle of Muraysi' and came under the share of Thabit bin Qais and his brother; she was bought for nine ounces of gold, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ paid and then married her. This was her dowry.
[10]Sayyida Zainab bint Khuzaymah Umm al-Masakin (RA) was given a dowry of one tola of gold and ten tolas of silver by the Prophet ﷺ.
[11]The dowry of Sayyida Umm Salama bint Abi Umayya, may Allah be pleased with her, was twelve and a half ounces of gold.
[12]Sayyida Maria al-Qibtiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, was a slave woman who was given as a gift from the Roman king Muqawqis.
Moreover, some people have started to exaggerate regarding dowry, perhaps for fame. Nowadays, it is becoming a custom to set dowries of one or two hundred thousand. However, in the authentic hadith, the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said not to exaggerate in the dowry of women. If giving a large dowry was something honorable in this world, then Allah's Prophet ﷺ would have been more deserving to set a higher dowry. I do not know that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married his wives or gave his daughters in marriage for more than twelve and a half ounces of gold.
All the supplications recorded in authentic hadiths are sufficient and healing for us. However, the so-called Ahl-e-Sunnat of our subcontinent, which includes both Barelvi and Deobandi groups, have added words of their own to these Sunnah supplications. The only conclusion that can be drawn from these additions is that, in their view, the supplications that came from the tongue of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are incomplete and deficient, which is why they have made additions to the supplications. Some examples of these additions are as follows:
The post-prayer remembrances recorded in authentic hadiths include a narration from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would conclude the prayer with salam, he would not sit except to the extent that he would say: (اللهم أنت السلام و منك السلام تباركت يا ذا الجلال و الإكرام)
Reference: Muslim, Book of Mosques, Chapter on the recommendation of remembrance after prayer and its description:592
But our brothers recite this supplication with additional words: (اللهم أنت السلام ومنك السلام و إليك يرجع السلام حينا ربنا بالسلام و أدخلنا دار السلام تباركت ربنا وتعاليت يا ذا الجلال والإكرام)
Reference: (Translator: Muhammad Shafi Okarvi)
Furthermore, the supplication after the adhan in the noble hadiths is recorded with these words: [اللهم رب هذه الدعوة التامة والصلاة القائمة آت محمدا الوسيلة والفضيلة وابعثه مقاما محمودا الذي وعدته]
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Adhan, Chapter on supplication at the time of adhan:614
While both groups of the Hanafis recite this supplication with additions in these words: (اللهم رب هذه الدعوة التامة و الصلوة القائمة ات محمد الوسيلة و الفضيلة و درجة الرفيعة وبعثه مقاما محمود الذي وعدته وارزقنا شفاعته يوم القيامة إنك لا تخلف الميعاد برحمتك يا ارحم الرحمين)
Reference: (Namaz Mutarjim Okara)
Apart from the above examples, there are dozens of other examples as well, but to avoid lengthiness, they are not mentioned here; only those examples have been stated which are recited in daily prayers.
Brothers in Islam!
Ask with justice, does adding to these supplications not indicate that those who added to them considered these supplications to be defective and incomplete, otherwise why were these additions made? In this way, deliberately, alterations and additions were made to the supplications taught by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Did revelation come to these individuals that they should add these words on their own, or do these people consider the teachings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to be defective and incomplete, so they are completing them with their additions? (نعوذ باللہ من ذالک) Then with what audacity do these people go around claiming to be lovers of the Prophet ﷺ, while instead of reciting the supplications taught by the Prophet ﷺ, they recite the added supplications, whereas these additions are innovations, and reciting innovative supplications means considering the supplications taught by the Noble Prophet ﷺ to be defective and incomplete. What greater disrespect to the Prophet ﷺ can there be than what the so-called Ahl al-Sunnah of today are doing?
If someone asks our so-called Sunni brothers what is meant by Sunni, the majority respond that those who became Muslims by hearing are called Sunni. That is why, instead of acting upon the Quran and Hadith, these poor people always act upon what they have heard from others. What they have heard from their ancestors and from clerics and mullahs is sufficient for them to act upon. One example of this is making the intention (niyyah) of prayer and fasting verbally. When our brothers and sisters stand to pray, before starting the prayer, they utter these words aloud: I intend to offer four rak'ahs of the obligatory Zuhr prayer for the sake of Allah, facing the Kaaba, with the imam behind me. If the prayer is different, its specification is made in these words of intention. I have thoroughly searched every Hadith, but I have not found these words or anything similar to them even in the weakest Hadith. Nor is it proven from the practice of any Sahabi that they used to make such verbal intentions before prayer. From just these two points, it is proven that these verbal words of intention are entirely an innovation (bid'ah). And those who utter these words aloud are 100% innovators and deserving of Allah's wrath. Intention (niyyah) is actually the resolve of the heart, and regarding this, Allah the Almighty has said: [اِنَّہٗ عَلِیۡمٌۢ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُوۡرِ] Indeed, He knows what is hidden in the breasts.
Reference: (Surah Al-Mulk:12)
When it is clear that He is aware of our intentions, then uttering these words is futile and useless. For this reason, the Messenger of Allahﷺ neither himself ever pronounced such words of intention with his blessed tongue, nor did he teach his followers any such practice.
Similar to this intention in prayer, these so-called Ahl al-Sunnah have also invented a self-made intention for fasting, which is neither proven from the Messenger of Allahﷺ nor supported by any statement of the Companions. The words of this intention are: [وبصوم غد نويت من شهر رمضان] I have no hesitation in calling these words an innovation, because they are self-invented words. Such eloquent Arabic has neither ever been heard from the blessed tongue of the Best of the Arabsﷺ nor transmitted with authentic or good chains of narration.
Some people have been heard saying at the time of ablution, "I intend for the sake of such and such prayer," but all these words of intention are not prescribed; they were invented by those ignorant people commonly known as Sufis. The reason for inventing this innovation is that in the authentic hadith it is stated:
(إنما الأعمال بالنيات) (Meaning) the deeds depend on intentions.
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Faith, Chapter on What Has Been Related About Deeds Being According to Intentions and Accountability:54
Therefore, it is obligatory to make the intention before every action. I say that if this is the requirement of the hadith, then why did the narrator of the hadith not present such an action? The meaning of the noble hadith is that what is said and done outwardly by the tongue and apparent action is not rewarded by Allah; rather, the intention of the heart at the time of the action is the cause of reward and recompense, not the words of the tongue. Thus, this hadith also proves the negation of this matter, and there is no doubt that making intention by the tongue is an innovation.
This story is also very famous in our subcontinent that Islam is formed by the combination of Shariah and Tariqah, meaning Islam is not complete otherwise; it is like a label of Bhanumati. Shariah is incomplete unless it includes the four Imams followed by the imitators and the twelve Imams of the Rafidis. In terminology, Shariah and Tariqah are almost synonymous and equivalent words, but religious bigots have separated the two. The captains of Shariah will be mentioned in the chapter on imitation. In this chapter, it is intended to discuss Tariqah and its orders. Among the orders currently found among us, some of the famous ones are: Naqshbandi, Chishti, Qadri, Suhrawardi, Nizami, Golri, Rizvi, Ashrafi, Qalandari, Kachochvi, Sabri, Gondalvi Alwari, Rashidi, Warisi, Wasti, Barari, etc., etc.
People belonging to these orders are taught that joining these orders and pledging allegiance by the hand of a spiritual elder to progress through the stages of spirituality is Sunnah. However, there is no indication in the Quran or Hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever commanded this. It is said that all these spiritual orders ultimately trace back to Sayyidina Ali رضي الله عنه, but there is no proof of this in the noble hadiths, which proves that all these orders are innovations (bid'ah), and their leaders and successors are all confirmed innovators and misguided people. These orders are not even proven to be from the Awliya Allah (friends of Allah). For example, there is no evidence of the Qadiri order from Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani رحمه الله or from his blessed biography. The same is true for other orders. All other narrations are false and far from the truth. Through these orders, innovation is taught, including qawwali and songs with musical instruments and voices. Moreover, the khanqah system where these tariqahs flourish is itself a curse and an innovation. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ built mosques for the education of his followers, not khanqahs. In Islam, the real center is the mosque, but the khanqah orders have distanced the public from mosques and brought them closer to graves.
Brothers of Islam! These khanqah robbers are looting your spiritual wealth day and night, distancing you from true faith in Allah and faith in the Messenger, and drowning you in the darkness of polytheism and innovations. In fact, some of them, along with looting spiritual wealth, are also grabbing worldly wealth. In this regard, you must still remember Haji Usman of Khanqah Chishti, who, under the name of Alliance Motors, plundered billions of rupees of the people of Karachi, considering it his father's property. If you still do not understand, then may Allah make you understand and help you free yourselves from these innovating spiritual leaders and their orders.
